


with you.

by ansutazu



Category: Kagerou Project, Mekakucity Actors
Genre: F/M, Fluff, i'm. h, post-STR
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 16:43:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15934397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ansutazu/pseuds/ansutazu
Summary: when i'm with you, it feels like presents with fluttering feelings. // shinaya one-shot with heroes, a lost kid, and a last name.





	with you.

**Author's Note:**

> when asahi from free s3 ep 8 said "heroes never see themselves as heroes" i felt that and that's why i wrote this. :>  
> anyway i miss them and i can't!! wait!! for remind blue!! summer magic also stays a bop.
> 
> and yeah, ryuuseitai enstars makes a slight cameo. you'll see.

Summer had never been kind to him — not with the exuberant yelling of high schoolers signaling their summer break that wakes him up from his sleep, not the events that unfolded the summer prior, and _especially_ not the excessive heat that the sun beats down on the bustling town he resides in, its rays shining through nonexistent clouds and blue skies to specifically prick his skin with unbearable warmth.

But it’s his fault, he guesses, for stubbornly wearing that red jersey nonetheless.

He stands near an outdoor theater of the nearby park, the person he’s meant to meet up “running late, sorry” as usual, followed by a string of emoticons and Line stickers that expressed her despair and apologetic nature.

There were far too many than what was necessary, but it was just like her.

… _Ugh, I know exactly what that’s supposed to mean, but I’m not going to say it._

It had been one year since everything — the keyboard soaked in carbonated bliss, the red eyes that blinked at him after the mall heist, the truths untold unravelling in a day’s time, the black abyss induced by the snake’s attempt to turn back time, and _her_.

She was back.

Supposedly dead for two years, but coming back after that heat-hazed world and the powers and energy of it all had been untangled…it’s an unlikely story to the eyes, even if he saw it happen himself. And yet the hero that went with her lonely plan came back to the earth that wanted her to return, clumsy and air-headed yet stupidly bright and smiling as always.

What to tell the others — that was what was on their minds as three teenagers that had ceased to exist two years ago suddenly spring back to life.

For one, Takane had ditched the twin-tails, and Haruka’s hair was lighter. Takane lived the life of a pro-gamer streamer, denying to show her face for now, so as not to deliver some sort of shock. Haruka paints, he draws, he sketches what he sees with a thoughtfulness unparalleled, somehow making a living out of those under the name ‘Konoha’. Most importantly, the two relayed their feelings at last. It was about time.

Ayano, on the other hand —

“Shintaro, I’m here!”

Her scarf was gone — that was the most jarring thing he notices as the girl runs towards him, waving a hand with that signature smile of hers. The red scarf she wore all those years before had been tucked away, the girl saying that she doesn’t need it anymore, for it had fulfilled its purpose. Yet her red hair clips remained, and she wore a plain shirt and shorts.

“Sorry, I had to help Mary-chan clean up something…ha…” She tries to catch her breath once she reaches him, clutching her chest and staying silent for a bit. He looms over her quite a lot, though he finds it rather endearing that she remained so short. She lifts her head up after, looking up at him with a bright light in her eyes that had not existed until she exited the haze.

It was new, something refreshing, and he could get used to looking at it.

“You had to help. It’s fine.” His hand hovers her head for a little bit as her smile stretches a little further at his statement, though he quickly retreats it to back of his head, smiling back awkwardly as he averts his gaze to the outdoor theater and the event going on ( _nice one, Shintaro_ ).

“Ah…though I’m thankful that the kids allow me to stay at their hideout for the time being, it’s nice to head out and get some air!” She, too, turns her gave to the theater, thoughtfully tilting her head. “It gets a little lonely in there sometimes…but I’m working hard to contribute when I can.”

She wasn’t supposed to be alive — that’s what they were both thinking of, staring at the show being put on. To walk around and continue as if nothing had happened would be _catastrophic_ , so for the time being, Ayano spends her time at the Dan’s hideout, helping Mary with her paper flower business and occasionally reading. 

Though of course, Ayano had that unspoken guilt of not being able to do _more_. What could she do without stirring up anything in the town? What could she provide the Dan to be a ‘proper big sister’? She wants to contribute more, she wants to be able to do _something_ — as if what she had done before wasn’t already enough.

It was an understandable silence of the matter, though.

The outdoor theater was hosting a show, it seems, about the heroes Ayano loved so much. They had planned to do a little window shopping as well as stopping by a cafe — though, Shintaro reminded himself over and over himself that this _wasn’t_ a date, that they were _hanging out_ and that there was nothing between them.

Yet. Nothing yet, and he can’t help but scold himself for being such a blundering fool. That if Takane and Haruka can confess, why can’t he? Why is it that there seems to be a hurdle that he can’t get over? He doesn’t want to wait another year or another timeline, and yet…

Perhaps he was just a bit scared.

Anyway, the date-but-not-really-a-date was supposed to start when they met up, but with Ayano now transfixed on the hero show at the outdoor theater, he can’t bear to snap her gaze away. She looked as if she was enjoying it, though the plot was more or less predictable. Still, they had all the time in the world now, so this detour…it’s not bad, is it?

A red ranger was lying down on the ground, acting out the strength being drained out of him. The other rangers crowd around him as the monster they were fighting laughs away, exclaiming how this was all going according to its plan.

And then the red ranger laughs too, getting up with the help of the other rangers. He points a finger at the monster, his fighting words expressed in a booming voice. “You’re laughing now, but you’re just a monster by yourself! I have friends next to me, friends that give me strength! As long as they’re around, I won’t back down! Now…with the powers of the Meteor Rangers, we’ll destroy you!”

The monster let out a long wail of despair as red, black, yellow, blue, and green all gathered up to fire up a gun — a fake one, with a streamer acting as the bullet that hit the monster, the creature stumbling and rolling off the stage, literally. The so-called Meteor Rangers did a cheer, and the children watching clapped as they rangers also started singing a song.

“Some budget they have,” Shintaro mutters, stealing a glance at Ayano, smiling so generously and clapping along to the song. He even heard her muttering some words, as if she’d heard it before — ‘ _ikuzu meteor ranger zenshin zenrei, meteor ranger hero sentai_ ’, or something like that. That was _totally_ like her to memorize it, and it’s not like after that, the song got stuck in his head or anything and that he looked it up when he got home, proceeding to download the entire Ryuuseitai discography when he found out there was more. He was just remembering it.

Anyway.

The heroes waved goodbye, and Ayano waved along with the kids — cute, but he stifles the grin threatening to appear, doing his best to maintain his sort-of-scowl. The crowd then began to disperse, kids and parents running off to go about their day.

Except one.

A boy about five years old stood where the crowd used to be, looking around left and right with a haste that morphed Ayano’s cheerful face to that of worry. She looks up at Shintaro, smiling despite the fret that was so obviously clouding her face. “Shintaro — ”

“I know what you’re going to say — ‘let’s help him, he’s probably lost and looking for his parents’.” Shintaro nods, already taking a stride towards the little boy. “You’re predictable. You won’t go anywhere unless you got to help this boy first, so I might as well.”

Ayano’s true smile returns, and she jogs over to the little boy, waving and leaning down when the kid met her gaze. There were tears welling up in his eyes, and Ayano wipes them away. Shintaro stands just a few inches away, not exactly sure _what_ to do — but regardless, he knew enough to know that Ayano wouldn’t budge from being of some help to the boy. The date-but-not-really-date would have to wait no matter what.

A gentle smile now crosses her face, and the effect it has is dazzling. The boy’s sniffling comes to a stop, and she nods, giving the boy a pat on the head. It’s fascinating, really, how the girl had so many different smiles. A smile for happiness, a smile for comfort, a smile to hide what she was feeling, a smile for the words she can’t say — there were so many, and just one of the things that he can’t wrap his head around.

Nonetheless, he doesn’t want to forget them.

“Do you know where your parents are…?” Snapping back to reality, Shintaro watches Ayano continuing to console the boy, something he can’t exactly do, hence the reason why he stood awkwardly beside them ( _nice going, Shintaro_ ). This, too, was something interesting, seeing as Ayano could handle a kid she just met so well.

The boy points over to the right, and Ayano sighs in relief. “Well, my friend and I” — friend, _ouch_ — “are going to walk in that direction!”

The boy blinks, glancing at Shintaro for just a few seconds before looking at the ground. Ayano looks up, and she laughs, holding the boy’s hands and swinging them around just a little bit. “Are you scared of him? He’s not mean, I promise! He’s just working on his smile. How about you?”

The boy’s smile is timid, but Ayano nods, giving him a thumbs up. “That’s great! Do you want to come with us and look for your parents over there? You could teach him a thing or two about smiling as great as you on the way.”

“Yes…” The boy’s smile grows a little bit in strength, and Ayano stands up, holding one of the boy’s hands. The boy looks up at Shintaro, holding out the other hand to him.

“Me…?”

Ah, now was not the time to be so abnormally tall, but with the expectant smile on Ayano’s face, he crouches down slightly so that the boy can hold his hand, and the boy, for the first time, laughs just a little bit, which brings Ayano’s spirits up.

“Let’s go!”

* * *

“Thank you…!” The parents of the little boy stand in the back as the boy bids his farewells to the couple (but…not really couple in _that way_ ), his small hand waving at them. “You two…are like the heroes from before.”

“A — ah…!” Ayano laugh is airy, and she seems rather flustered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she squats down to the boy’s height. “But they were much cooler with the costumes and helmets…do you want to be a hero someday, too?”

“Yeah, I want to defeat monsters!” The boy pauses for a second in his exclamation, leaning forward a bit, attempting to whisper, though his voice carries. “Will Shintaro join, too?”

“Of course!” Ayano answers, and it’s not like Shintaro would disagree in front of a _child_. Still, he’s back at it again, awkwardly standing beside the girl, still not knowing what to do after a good thirty minutes of the boy lecturing him about how to smile and at some point, the boy attempting to stretch his mouth wide open to, and he quotes, “show him how it’s done”.

“Two red rangers…hehe, I guess that’s how it works when you’re married?” The boy tilts his head as Ayano hiccups, her face turning bright red — but who was he kidding, he was blushing, too, tucking his hands into the _red_ jersey he wore today (all because Ayano said she liked how it looked on him — the things he does for her, his not-really-girlfriend-but-it-seemed-like-it-to-the-boy). Shintaro felt the blood rush to his cheeks, and he looks away, afraid to look so embarrassing in front of all of them.

“M — m — maybe, ahaha…!” Ayano pats the boy’s brown hair, and she gestures to the parents waiting behind him. “Anyway, go with your parents now — and stay close, okay?”

“Okay!” The boy waves one last time. “Bye!”

“Bye…!” Ayano stands up now, waving back until the boy turns his back to them, skipping in between his parents.

They were at a familiar bridge, the bridge Ayano and Shintaro used to cross to get to school everyday. The sun began its dip into the horizon, setting in its usual orange and yellow hues. Ayano leans on the railing, head tilting to the side, and Shintaro leans as well, though he can’t find the courage to look her directly in the eyes just yet, not after… _that_.

“It’s a nice feeling,” Ayano muses, and her voice goes quiet — that could only mean something serious was on her mind. Shintaro braces himself to listen, ready to trying figure out what her words mean. “Wanting to bring happiness, feeling happy myself when I see it…I’m still the same girl from before. Ah, I’m still as stupid as ever, aren’t I?”

“You’re not the same,” Shintaro interjects, keeping his eyes fixed on the sky in front of him, still too afraid to make eye contact — but perhaps it wasn’t needed at the moment. “You’re absolutely _not_ the same. Personality, looks, and beliefs, sure, but — you’re a hero. You’re a hero now.”

“A…no, I didn’t — ”

“Don’t tell me that ‘I didn’t do anything, I didn’t do much’ crap.” _Now_ he looks, and at perfect timing — Ayano and Shintaro turn their heads at the exact time to look at each other, gaze unwavering with truth untold, truth only seen with the eyes. “You helped me in the heat haze. You gave strength to your siblings. You helped that kid find his parents. You’re telling me that isn’t the qualities of a hero? What is it that you need to do to qualify as one? Isn’t making sure people are happy the only thing a hero needs?”

The hand that wavered before finally pats Ayano’s head, and he sighs as her hair slides through his fingers, something that makes his heart race. “Heroes don’t usually see themselves as heroes. But believe me, you _are_.”

“A — ah…” Ayano’s cheeks were so obviously red, and he can’t help the same hue on his own. She smiles again, reaching for the hand on her head and interlocking her fingers with his, holding it and bringing it to the side. “Thank you, Shintaro. You’re pretty good at making others feel better now, aren’t you? Thank you, really…but still, I can’t stop at just a few things. Making sure people are happy…it’s a continuous thing.”

“I suppose so.” He had no quarrels about holding her hand, by the way, though he wasn’t — she wasn’t — they weren’t sure _what_ it meant. “Fine, I’ll give you that.”

“I had a thought…” She laughs a bit, perhaps from the embarrassment welling up — from what, exactly? “I like helping around in the hideout, but I’d also like to help out here in the world. A hero works all over the place, you know! I was thinking, while with that kid…I could maybe be a nanny, a babysitter or something. Not only could I take care of others, but I could contribute to the Dan, too…ah, it’s fine, isn’t it, Shintaro? That…”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

“That’s a relief…!” Ayano’s sighs of relief were _really_ something, done over the most trivial things. “The thing is though, I have to register. And my name…”

“Oh, that…”

God, he was going to do it.

He was going to say it.

Heart, don’t fail him now.

“…You could use Kisaragi.”

“I could…” Ayano blinks, a few seconds spent in silence before she registers the thought. “K — Kisaragi…?! As in, _your_ Kisaragi? That Kisaragi?”

“Do you know any other?” Ah, it was no use. The smile finally appears on his face, though it’s small for the time being. He’ll work on it, little kid. “It’s not bad, is it?”

“It’s not, it’s not bad at all…!” Ayano’s flustered face was too cute, he had to admit, but he didn’t see her free hand reaching out for his, and in time, she was now holding onto both, a grip filled with warmth and a feeling he can’t quite deny anymore. “It’s not bad, it’s just…I guess there’s two of the same colors for rangers that are married!”

M —

“Married? Did you — ?”

“We’re sharing the same name, aren’t we?”

“That’s true — but to be fair, Kisaragi sounds good on you. Ayano Kisaragi.”

“I love you.”

“…You beat me to it. I love you, too.”


End file.
